No Messi in Trap’s top three Ballon d’Or selection

LIONEL MESSI, the red-hot favourite to win the FIFA Ballon d’Or in Zurich tonight, was ignored by Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni in voting for the prestigious annual award.

When the ballots cast by national team coaches, captains and football journalists around the world are published by FIFA this evening, they will show that Trapattoni gave his first preference (worth 5 points) to Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernández, followed by Wayne Rooney (3 points) and Andrés Iniesta (1 point). Ireland captain Robbie Keane plumped for Iniesta as the best player of 2011, with Messi and Wesley Sneijder completing his selection.

Trapattoni’s exclusion of Messi is baffling.